■an 



William Pitt Fessenden 

By WILLIAM SALTER. D. D. 



Reprinted from the April, 1908, Number of 

ANNALS OF IOWA 



Published by the 

HISTORICAL DEPARTMENT 

DES MOINES, IOWA 



MAURO & WILSON, 401 Jefferson Street 
BURLINGTON, IOWA 

will send a copy to any address on receipt of price, SO cts. 



By Tiransfw 

MAR 30 1917 





WILLIAM PITT FESSENDEN 

From a marble medallion by Larkin G. Meade, which was presented to the 
Historical Department of Iowa by Mrs. James W. Grimes. 



4^^^ 



WILLIAM PITT FESSENDEN. 



BY WILLIAM SALTER, D. D. 



The Congress of the United States is the most important 
deliberative and la^^Tnaking- body in the world. It represents 
the American people more than the British Parliament or the 
German Parliament or the French Chamber of Deputies rep- 
resent the people of their respective countries. No member of 
Congress holds his seat except by re-election, for more than 
two years in the case of Representatives, or for more than six 
years in the case of Senators. The American government is in 
the hands of the American people by freciuent elections. It 
is a Democracy, a Referendum, such as no great nation ever 
had before. The administration of it depends upon the intelli- 
gence, the virtue, and the good sense of the people in the 
exercise of the elective franchise. If they are ignorant or 
corrupt, and elect incapable and dishonest men to office, they 
have only themselves to blame for a bad government. 

Wise and good men in Congress are the palladium of the 
Nation, and the people's welfare. In the highest rank among 
such men was William Pitt Fessenden, and close beside him for 
ten years, in the most momentous period of our country's his- 
tory, was James W. Grimes. They stood together, and gave the 
full measure of their strength to the life and credit and salva- 
tion of the Nation in the crisis of its fate. What Grant and 
Sherman were in the march of the army, Fessenden and Grimes 
were in the field of legislation. When the catastrophe was 
over, Mr. Grimes told Mr. Fessenden that he ought to write a 
history of that period. But death intervened. The work was 
subsequently undertaken by one of his sons, and now appears 
in the Life and Public Services of William Pitt Fessenden* 

*Life and Public Services of William Pitt Fessenden, by his son Francis 
Fessenden, Brigadier General, Retired Major General, U. S. A. 2 vols.; pp. 
374, 367. Houghton, Mifflin & Co. 



— 2— 

Of the many accounts of that period none are so lucid and 
graphic as to what was done in the halls of Congress. Presi- 
dent Lincoln and the army and navy were supported by taxes 
levied, money borrowed, and the appropriation of millions, all 
of which passed under the hands of Mr. Fessenden as chair- 
man of the Senate Committee of Finance, or Secretary of the 
Treasury. Early in the war he saw the necessity of giving 
freedom to the slaves. He and Mr. Grimes were in advance of 
the Emancipation Proclamation of President Lincoln, and at 
last, after a long and severe struggle, crowned his work with 
the seal of the Constitution. 

A graduate of Bowdoin College at the age of 17, and ad- 
mitted to the practice of law at the age of 21, Fessenden early 
became a distinguished lawyer. He was twice chosen to the 
legislature of IMaine. At the age of 34, he was elected to Con- 
gress, and served one term. In the prime of his powers, at 
the age of 48, he was elected to the United States Senate. The 
repeal of the Missouri Compromise and the crime against Kan- 
sas were then the questions at issue. Pie at once took part in 
their discussion in sharp debates with Senators Jefferson 
Davis and Stephen A. Douglas. Cass, and Butler of South 
Carolina, also interrupted him, only to be worsted. Mr. Sum- 
ner said that a champion of Freedom had come. 

^Ir. Fessenden was less than two years older than Mr. 
Davis. They were men of like stature and figure, tall and 
slender. Both were forcible speakers, high-strung, and prompt 
to resist attack, but Fessenden was superior in a lofty nature, 
in freedom from personal ambition, in knowledge of the Con- 
stitution and the laws of the history of the United States, and 
of the world. On one occasion Mr. Davis remarked that he 
attacked nobody, and did not suppose any one was afraid of 
him. Mr. Fessenden said that he was, which Mr. Davis took 
seriously, when Mr. Fessenden explained that he spoke only 
from an intellectual point of view, which caused laughter in 
the Senate. 

Senator Douglas was also a forcible speaker, but coarse, 
overbearing, a master of sophistry, and on several occasions 
opprobrious towards Mr. Fessenden, who answered him indig- 



—3— ^ 

nantly and severely. Later, speaking of great men, Mr. Doug- 
las said, "Henry Clay was the most fascinating, Daniel Web- 
ster the most powerful orator, John C. Callioun the logician 
of the Senate, William Pitt Fessenden the readiest and ablest 
debater." Many years later, Mr. Sumner said, that as a 
debater jMr. Fessenden was "without a superior, without a 
peer. Nobody could match him in immediate and incisive 
reply. ' ' 

One of Mr. Fessenden 's strongest speeches was in a debate 
with Jefferson Davis upon the admission of Kansas, under the 
Lecompton Constitution, into the Union. President Buchanan 
recommended it, and a bill to that effect passed the Senate, 
but was lost in the House. Mr. Fessenden denounced the whole 
thing as a fraud, infinitely dishonorable to all concerned. He 
said that "the South had lost all claim to honor, and the 
Democratic North never had any. ' ' 

When South Carolina opened fire upon Fort Sumter, Mr. 
Douglas saw that his efforts to propitiate the slave-interest 
were in vain. He at once turned front, and advised his 
friends to sink party ties, and support President Lincoln ; soon 
afterwards he died. 

Mr. Fessenden also measured swords with Senator Seward 
upon a bill brought in by Jefferson Davis to increase the ap- 
propriation for the army to eight million dollars, under pre- 
tense of fear from the ^Mormons, but really to uphold slavery 
in Kansas. Mr. Seward was the only Republican Senator who / 
voted for it. ' ' He is perfectly heyv^i^6red, but thinks himself ^ 
wiser than any of us," said Mr. Fessenden. 

In a home letter of this period, Mr. Fessenden wrote, " If I 
leave my sons nothing else, I shall bequeath them the legacy 
of eternal warfare upon the infamous slave system. It is 
to be a contest of years, and I will not live to see the end. If 
you do not witness its extinction, you will, I trust, live to 
see its gradual and sure decay — the fatal arrow in its side. ' ' 

In the discussion, February, 1859, upon a Pacific railroad, 
Mr. Fessenden gave it as his opinion that it should be built by 
the government, and its control remain in the hands of Con- 
gress. Later, he said, ' ' It should be a national work. National 



^^^-^ 



— 4— 

works should not be put into the power of corporations, for it 
was getting to be the ease that the country was to be controUed 
by great corporations, and legislation controlled by them." 
He did not vote for the Union Pacific Railroad bill, but .secured 
the proviso that Congress should preserve control of the road, 
with power to legislate for it in the future. 

Upon his election to a second term in the Senate by a unani- 
mous vote of the Maine legislature, he wrote to his son: "I 
am exceedingly gratified at the good feeling and unanimity. I 
am doubly bound to serve the people honestly, and to justify 
their confidence. I can say with tnith that I have never sought 
a nomination to office. I have not the shame of recollection 
that I owe my success to unworthy means. For many years 1 
struggled on in a hopeless minority, content, as far as I 
was concerned, to remain there, retaining a clear conscience 
and my own self-respect." 

Speaking of the difference which the circumstances and 
employments of men made in their opinions, Mr. Fessenden, 
from his own observation of human nature, said: "In cities, 
politics are necessarily influenced by trade. The mercantile 
class, as a class, is always mercenary and unreliable in public 
affairs. Sometimes one rises above the selfishness begotten by 
his calling, and in emergencies and crises is capable of great 
sacrifices. Still, as a general rule, men engaged in Southern 
trade cannot look beyond the present to the future. I never 
calculate on such men ; but the heart of New England is 
sound." He added "I would rather belong to a small and 
free State than be subject to an oligarchy so overbearing and 
tyrannical as the slave-power. What I have left of life is at 
the service of my country. I hope the storm will blow over, 
and that these Southern fools will not attempt to pull down the 
fabric which, if it falls, will surely bury them in its ruins." 

The first term of Mr. Grimes in the Senate was coeval with 
Mr. Fessenden 's second term. They early came into a Avarm 
friendship, which continued to the end of their days. They 
were fond of taking walks and strolls together all over Wash- 
ington, and when absent from the city, they kept in friendly 
correspondence with each other to the last. Of different tem- 



peraments, and Mr. Fessenden the senior in age by ten years, 
they mixed and mingled as if kith and kin, while each was 
independent, self-reliant, and acted from his own convictions. 
Both were frank and outspoken, Mr. Fessenden with his im- 
passioned nature, and Mr. Grimes with his cool and deliberate 
mind, and his temper under command. 

Both realized the determined and desperate character of the 
rebellion at its outbreak, and that the issue of life or death 
was before the Nation. Throughout the war, Mr. Fessenden 
gave his sleepless vigilance to provide the sinews of war for 
its enormous expenses, especially to have every soldier paid in 
honest money. Mr. Grimes was ecjually vigilant to promote the 
efficiency of the navy, and bring about the great achievements 
of Farragut and Porter. Three of Mr. Fessenden 's sons served 
in the army ; one was mortally wounded in 1862 at Bull Run ; 
another was severelj^ wounded at Shiloh, and again in the 
Banks' Expedition. To this son we owe the memoirs of his 
father, written with filial devotion in his crippled condition, 
with much care and pains. 

]\Ir. Fessenden, May 7, 1861, wrote from his home in Port- 
land to Mr. Grimes : ' ' Frank desires to take part in the war, 
but I desire that he shall first re-establish his health, and then, 
if he desires it, I cannot refuse him, dear as he is. I think our 
Southern friends will soon lay aside all hopes of Northern aid. 
Our people are all but unanimous, though there are some who 
sympathize with the traitors. "With love to Mrs. Grimes, 
yours always. ' ' 

He wrote, June 1, 1861 : "It has struck me that our friends 
at Washington had on a pretty good head of steam. At present, 
however, they are behind the popular feeling. It is to be pre- 
sumed that what they have done thus far is to be submitted to 
Congress, and confirmation requested. There may be some 
doubts whether Congress will not limit the government, but 
after all in the present excited state of public feeling there is 
more danger of error upon the other side. I confess that were 
I in Lincoln's place a small scruple would not detain me from 
doing what was needful. And it is safer to excuse the exercise 
of powers not warranted, in an extraordinary emergency, than 
to grant a power easily perverted." 



— 6— 

At the special session of Congress, July 4, 1861, called by 
the President, Mr. Fessenden and Mr. Grimes were in their 
seats in the Senate. Early in the session, Mr. Grimes proposed 
a diversion of the men and money employed in the Coast Sur- 
vey to the prosecution of the war. ]\Ir. Fessenden objected. 
He spoke of the importance of the Coast Survey, and said : 
' ' We do not know how long the war will continue. It may end 
in the course of a few months." Mr. Fessenden also objected 
to some other measures proposed by INIr. Grimes, whereupon the 
latter said: "My experience has taught me that it is futile 
to war against the Chairman of the Committee on Finance. 
His eloquence, and will, and persistency are such that it is 
useless for me to press any amendment against his wishes. I 
therefor withdraw the proposition, hoping to receive his sup- 
port some other time. ' ' 

Portland, September 26, 1861. 
My dear Grimes: 

I was glad to get your letter, though it was a continual growl 
from beginning to end. Of course I could expect nothing else. 

As to this unfortunate Fremont affair, I am with you entirely, 
so far as the proclamation is concerned and wrote Fremont to that 
effect, as soon as I saw the President's foolish letter. The people 
here, as with you, are all for the proclamation, and the President 
has lost ground amazingly. It was a weak and unjustifiable con- 
cession to the Union men of the border States, who cannot take 
care of themselves, and are haunted by the Slavery demon night 
and day. I fear however that this is but a trifling matter. A friend 
in St. Louis, who liked and thought highly of Fremont, writes me 
that he fears all is going wrong, that Fremont has surrounded 
himself with a set of corrupt broken-down speculators from Cali- 
fornia, and is playing the very devil with the public money, etc. — 
but I will hope for the best, for, if obliged to lose faith in Fremont 
I shall not know where to look. 

I am patriot enough, my friend, to rejoice most heartily that our 
money affairs are so much better than I expected. It would grieve 
me to lessen your opinion of your own financial sagacity in any 
way, but you will permit me to say that, as yet, there has not been 
time enough to consider the experiment as fairly tried. You must 
not be too hard on Chase and me, for you will reflect that we never 
had that peculiar experience in raising the wind which is only 
acquired by Iowa Banking. * * * 

And so our sweet friend is going to Europe. Joy go 

with her the world over. May God bless her, and make her as happy 



— 7— 

as she deserves to be. If I could believe that any effort would have 
made me the possessor of such a jewel, and that I was in any degree 
worthy to possess it, such an opportunity lost would be a lifelong 
regret. It would be folly in me, however, to think of such a woman, 
and selfishness even to wish that youth and loveliness should be 
sacrificed to the solace of my few remaining years. I have reso- 
lutely schooled myself to look disagreeable truths squarely in the 
face. And none is more obvious than that, at my age, I have no 
right to look for woman's love, or any sentiment beyond respect and 
esteem. I must therefore go on my way alone. Excuse me for mak- 
ing a serious matter of your joke. 

Why did you not come? Believe me when I say that no man 
would be more welcome to my house and heart. I am living here 
quietly, taking little part in what is going on around me, impatient 
until I get the news of the day, and somewhat hard pressed to dis- 
pose of time after I get it. My oldest son who has a fine business, 
a sweet wife, and two little boys, has undertaken to raise a company 
of sharp-shooters, and my only hope is that he will fail. Sam annoys 
me every day on the same subject, and I expect to wake some morn- 
ing and find him gone. 

I do so long to hear something creditable to our army. When is 
it to be? If this state of things shall continue much longer I shall 
join the grumblers. Politics however is a great captain, and I try 
hard to keep cool. 

Portland, Nov. 10, 1861. 
These are delightful times, are they not? What a lovely report 
that was of old Thomas (Lorenzo), and what excellent good sense 
and taste was displayed in publishing it. We shall have to investi- 
gate the matter. I think that even Floyd would have shrunk from 
anything so utterly shameless. These people must give some sounder 
reasons than I have seen yet, or their treatment of Fremont will 
damn them. Who and what are at the bottom of it? In the very 
best view I can take of it, our affairs on the Potomac have been ) 
but a succession of blunders. I reserve my puMic opinion until I 
have learned more. 

Mr. Chase commended Edwin M. Stanton to Mr. Fessenden 
as a man of great ability and entitled to the highest confidence, 
and in January, 1862, Mr. Fessenden in the Senate gave his 
warm approval to the confirmation of Edwin M. Stanton "as 

just the man for Secretary of War." 

Portland, Sept. 25, 1862. 
Dear Grimes: 

My youngest son was mortally wounded at Bull Run. He lived 
about thirty-six hours, manifesting through all, I am told, as in the 



battle, the most heroic calmness and self-possession, uttering no com- 
plaint, but dying like a man and a soldier. The loss has affected me 
most severely, and the fact that two others of my sons are exposed 
to the same fate renders me unquiet and unhappy — but I have noth- 
ing but patience and submission. 

I presume you are not more pleased than I am with the present 
condition of our affairs. McClellan as usual lost the golden oppor- 
tunity on Thursday. I see nothing before us but a renewal of last 
winter's campaign. You have read Pope's report. I have no doubt 
of its truth, nor has anybody who was in Washington at the time. 
The President knows it to be true. And yet he gave McClellan the 
command of the army, and at his request restored to their places 
Porter, Franklin and Griffin, through fear of his influence with the 
army. The Proclamation is, however, to make up for everything 
with you radicals. I, being less sanguine, do not expect as much 
from it as many others, but pray that it may produce all the antici- 
pated good. 

Portland, Oct. 19. 1862. 

I am glad that you have done so well in Iowa. The folly of 
the President has lost Ohio and Indiana, and I am surprised that 
its effects have not been still more calamitous. Wade, I am thinking, 
will close his senatorial career with this Congress. He has some 
faults, but I shall be sorry to lose so true a man.* 

Private advices from Washington are to the effect that McClellan 
is to be removed from command of the army, and Halleck is to take 
his place. We should gain little by that in my judgment. I am for 
Hooker. He has shown more brains than any of them. 

I shall go to the old place if I can get my old room, and hope 
you will do the like. Having become accustomed to you, I am con- 
tent to tolerate your infirmities for the good that is in you. 

Upon the meeting of Congress in December, 1862, the Senate 
took into consideration the recent disasters of the army. ]\Ir. 
Fessenden, Mr. Grimes, and other Senators regarded the course 
of IVIr. Seward and his influence over the President as in a 
measure responsible. Mr. Seward had opposed the employ- 
ment of negro soldiers. While our enemies were being sup- 
ported by the labor of their slaves, he had informed the gov- 
ernments of Europe in a circular to our foreign ministers that 
slavery had nothing to do with the rebellion. A committee of 
Senators held a conference with the President, and recom- 
mended a removal of ]\Ir. Seward from the Cabinet. Mr. 



* Mr. Fessenden was mistaken about Ohio; Mr. Wade was re-elected to the 
Senate. 



— 9— 

Seward sent his resignation to the President and Mr. Fessen- 
den advised its acceptance. But the matter became compli- 
cated by Mr. Chase sending in his resignation. Mr. Fessenden 
felt that Mr. Chase could not be spared from the Treasury. 
Holding up Mr. Chase's resignation, Mr. Lincoln said, "Now 
I have the biggest half of the hog, I shall accept neither. ' ' 

In 1863, Mr. Seward changed front, and supported the em- 
ployment of negro soldiers, and the Emancipation Proclama- 
tion of that year. 

In the fall of 1863, Mr. Grimes visited Mr. Fessenden, and 
in a letter to Mrs. Grimes said : 

Portland, Nov. 24, 1863. 

I reached Mr. Fessenden's without accident, and am now at his 
house. I wanted to leave to-day for Boston, but he restrained me, 
and I shall not go until tomorrow. I shall be in Boston until Fri- 
daj', when Mr. Fessenden is to meet me, and we shall go to Washing- 
ton together. I judge Portland to be one of the pleasantest cities 
in the United States. Fessenden has a grand old place; house and 
everything in it appearing to be not less than fifty years old and 
upward. He expressed his regret that you were not with me. All 
of his family, including sons, brother-in-law, etc., seemed to be 
pleased to see me, and all inquired kindly for you, as if they knew 
you. In Fessenden's chamber I found four framed portraits, his 
wife, Samuel, who is also dead, and my wife and my wife's husband. 

Upon Mr. Fessenden's appointment to succeed Mr. Chase 
as Secretary of the Treasury, Mr. Grimes wrote him a letter 
of exceeding pathos and tenderness, to which Mr. Fessenden 
replied with his characteristic sympathy and warm affection. 
The correspondence is in the Life of James W. Grime&* pp. 
263-66. An additional part of Mr. Fessenden's letter is as 

follows : 

Washington, July 24, 1864. 

I suppose you, like everybody else, were disgusted with the dis- 
graceful manner in which the recent raid upon Washington was met. 
Where the fault was I am not able to say. Perhaps in the stupidity 
of entrusting important commands to such men as Sigel and Wal- 
lace„ Yet we blunder on. Only worse blunders on the part of our \ 
adversaries will save us— and there is our chance. 

Mr. Fessenden served eight months as Secretary of the 
Treasury. He took the office at the earnest solicitation of the 

*Life of James W. Grimes, by WlUiam Salter. N. Y., Appleton «& Co., 1876. 



—10— 

President. It was in' the gloomiest period of the war, the 
movement of our armies in doubt, the national credit at its 
lowest ebb. There was a debt of nearly two billion dollars; 
an inflated paper currency, irredeemable, of six hundred mil- 
lions ; daily requisitions upon the treasury for three millions ; 
and gold at 225. Mr. Fessenden said: 

I consented to take the Treasury not only with extreme reluctance, 
but with much pain, having little strength for labor of any kind, 
but I could not resist the appeals to try to save our sinking credit — • 
upon which the success of our cause depended. It was unfortunate 
(for me that just at that moment I was believed to possess the con- 
fidence of the country to an extent which imposed the effort upon 
me. Under this state of things and in the hour of peril, I did not 
dare to refuse, whatever might be the consequences to myself. It 

/may result in the destruction of all the reputation I have gained. 

' Be it so — I owe that to my country as well as my life. My days are 
devoted to hard work, and I find many things to harass and perplex 
me. I could, however, do well enough but for the constant trouble 
in my head. But I do not feel like complaining when I think of 
Frank's amputated limb, or the many thousands of glorious fellows 
who bear wounds and suffering patiently and cheerfully because their 
country demands the sacrifice. All I can do and bear is trifling in 
comparison. 

By vigor and skill in the management of the Treasury put- 
ting an end to any further issue of irredeemable paper, Mr. 
Fessenden restored confidence in the national credit. He 
addressed the people directly in a spirited appeal, told them 
the situation frankly, and called for their support. He said, 
"It is your war. The brave men who are fighting our battles 
must be fed and clothed, and the munitions of war be fur- 
nished, or the war must endure defeat and disgrace." The 
/people responded in large subscriptions, and the country was 
\ saved from bankruptcy. The famous work of Hamilton in 
providing for the Revolutionary war debt was surpassed in 
. providing for the greater debt incurred by the war of the 
Rebellion. 

{ In a letter to the President, February 6, 1865, resigning his 
office, to take effect March 3d, Mr. Fessenden said : 

I desire gratefully to acknowledge the kindness and consideration 
with which you have invariably treated me, and to assure you that 



—11— 

in retiring I carry with me great and increased respect for your » 
personal character, and for the ability which has marked your ad- 
ministration of the government at a period requiring the most 
devoted patriotism and the highest intellectual and moral qualities 
for a place so exalted as yours. 

Allow me, also, to congratulate you upon the greatly improved ) 
aspect of our national affairs, to which and to the auspicious result 
of our prolonged struggle for national life, now, as I believe, so near 
at hand, no one can claim to have so largely contributed as the Chief 
Magistrate of this great people. 

That your future administration may be crowned with entire 
success, and that you may at its close take with you into retirement 
the well-deserved gratitude of the people you have well and faith- 
fully ruled, is the most fervent wish of 

Your friend and obt. servant, 

W. P. Fessenden. 
To The President. 

Upon Mr. Fessenden 's election to a third term in the Senate, 
he expressed in a letter to the Maine legislature his gratifica- 
tion at this renewed proof of their confidence, and said : ' ' The 
administration of President Lincoln has been marked by extra- 
ordinary events. It has formed a memorable epoch in history. 
The struggle has enchained the attention of the world — the 
result must seriously affect the welfare of ages to come. Let 
it be our boast that in the emergency Maine was true to the 
cause of civil liberty, that at no moment did her people falter 
or faint, that no sacrifice could shake her purpose or weaken 
her faith." 

Upon the death of President Lincoln, Mr. Fessenden deemed '^ 
it the duty of the new President to call Congress together in 
view of the extraordinary condition of things. The new Presi- " 
dent thought otherwise. He took the government of the rebel 
States into his own hands, without authority of law. He had 
promised to be the Moses of the late slaves, but abandoned 
them to be despoiled by their late masters. 

Upon the assembling of Congress in December, 1865, Mr. 
Fessenden labored in personal interviews with the President' 
to convince him of the authority of Congress over the rebel 
States. Their armies were captured or surrendered, their 
president a prisoner, their slaves emancipated, their people 
under martial law, with no government of their own. At the 



—12— 

outset of the rebellion, they withdrew their Senators and 
representatives from Congress. The questions now pending 
were as to their readmission into the Union, and the terms 
upon which they might again send Senators and representa- 
tives to Congress. Mr. Fessenden said it was an infamy in 
President Buchanan to allow the rebellion to gain force and 
form, but it would be more infamous to allow the rebel States 
to come back, send Senators and representatives to Congress, 
without guaranteeing the safety of the Nation, without assent- 
ing to the abolition of slavery, without repudiating the rebel 
debt, or without giving the rights of freemen to their former 
slaves. 

A joint committee of both Houses on "Reconstruction" was 
appointed, to inquire into the condition of the Confederate 
States, and report upon these questions. Mr. Fessenden was 
made chairman of the Committee. Mr. Sumner wanted the 
place, but was deemed "too ultra." Mr. Grimes was second 
on the committee. Mr. Fessenden 's labors with the President 
were futile. The President asserted his own authority, and 
later he defied Congress. The labors of the committee were 
arduous. There were contrary opinions. The strife and strain 
imperiled Mr. Fessenden 's health, and nearly broke him down. 
But in weariness and painfulness he held his head aloft in 
long and sharp debates, and braved every difficulty. At last, 
,>he saw the crown of his labors in the adoption of the Thir- 
teenth, Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments to the Consti- 
itution. As the war of the Revolution led to the adoption of 
the Constitution, so the -war of the Rebellion led to the adop- 
tion of the Amendments. They were the corollary of the Re- 
bellion, the inevitable consequence of its failure and defeat. 

The final report of the Committee on ' ' Reconstruction ' ' was 

drawn up by Mr. Fessenden, and presented to the Senate, 

< June 11, 1866: "In my opinion," said Mr. Grimes, "it is the 

ablest paper submitted to Congress, since I have been in the 

Senate." 

When the revision of the tarifif was under consideration, 
some parties, who were making enormous profits in steel, 
charged IMr. Grimes with exerting an influence upon the Fi- 



—13— 

nance Committee, in favor of reducing- the duties on steel. 
Mr. Fessenden, referring to the matter, said : " I will frankly 
say that if there is a man in or out of the Senate who possesses 
influence over me, it is the honorable Senator from Iowa. No 
man possesses more. I have great respect for his opinion, 
and for the uniform integrity of his character, as we all have. 
But I. must say in justification of the Senator, and of the Com- 
mittee, or of the chairman of it in this instance, that the Sen- 
ator never spoke to me upon the matter referred to, or alluded 
to it in any way. All I ever heard him say on the subject was 
said here on the floor of the Senate." 

The folly and malfeasance of President Johnson early 
aroused Mr. Fessenden's indignation, but he doubted the ex- 
pediency of impeaching him. The question took form in the 
House of Representatives in January, 1867, when it was re- 
ferred to the Judiciary Committee (James F. Wilson chair- 
man), for examination. The Committee took a large amount 
of testimony, but could not complete their investigation during 
that Congress, and the matter was turned over to the next, the 
40th, which met March 4, and continued in its first session 
till IMarch 30, and subsequently by adjournment July 3-20, 
November 21-30. 

When some Senators were freely expressing their minds 
upon the matter in the Senate, Mr. Fessenden said, July 20, 
1867, that he deemed it ' ' improper for one, who was to act as a 
judge in the case, to commit himself in advance upon the guilt 
of the accused, but should hear the case without prejudice or 
passion." 

The Judiciarv^ Committee of the House, by George S. Bout- 
well, made a report, November 25, in favor of impeachment. 
Mr. Wilson did not agree with it, and made a minority report. 
The subject was then postponed to the next month. On De- 
cember 7, a vote was taken, when the yeas were 57, nays 108. 

The situation was changed February 21, 1868, by the Presi- 
dent's removal of the Secretary of War, EdA\nn M. Stanton. 
Congress had passed a law to protect ^Ir. Stanton in that office, 
and his removal was deemed a crime that demanded impeach- 
ment. The vote now stood, yeas 126, nays 41. The next day, 



\ 



—14— 

James F. Wilson stated that if the President could not be con- 
victed on the ground of his removal of Mr. Stanton, he prob- 
ably could not be convicted on the other charges against him. 
The trial was made to hinge on that article, though the other 
charges were presented and discussed. 

On the 5th of INIarch, 1868, the Chief Justice of the United 
States and the Senators took the oath to do impartial justice 
in the matter according to the Constitution and the laws. The 
trial went on in long arguments and speeches pro and con 
until the 16th of May, when 35 Senators voted "guilty," 19 
"not guilty," and the impeachment failed, two-thirds being 
required for conviction. Ten days later, votes were taken on 
other charges with like result, and the Senate sitting as a 
Court adjourned sine die. 

The following extracts from Mr. Fessenden's letters to Mr. 
Grimes show his views of how things went on : 

Portland, May 8, 1867. 

It was taken for granted that there would not be a session in 
July unless something new "turned up" — though Sumner professed 
to know that there would be. These fellows considered themselves 
beaten and were very sore. Wade's vision of the Presidency and 
Schenck's of succeeding him during the present Congress were 
somewhat dimmed — though the former and his Lieutenants are 
arranging their forces for the next campaign and are abusing every- 
body — not excepting Grant. 

We had a hard time of it during the called session. The fight 
among ourselves was a severe one, but the leaders found themselves 
in the vocative at last, and were pretty thoroughly used up. Im- 
peachment had got to be a matter of ridicule before the session 
closed, but the movement has done us harm. 

I trust your health is restored. We needed your help very much, 
but a consideration of your very critical condition induced us to 
forgive you. 

Yours always with the best regards to Mrs. Grimes. 

Portland, June 18, 1867. 
Shall you go? It is all nonsense in my judgment, and Stevens and 
others are jumping at a pretense. I am disgusted with Johnson 
for giving them such a pretense. God only knows what mischief 
will be done if we get together. We shall have to consider July 
and August as mortgaged. Besides, we shall be weak. The Pacific 
coast is not to be counted on, and Morrill of Vermont and Sherman, 
with many of the House are in Europe. 



—15— 

I see that our V. P. is fairly in for the Presidency. I suppose he 
will divide the West with Colfax. Under which of these doughty 
champions will Iowa range itself? 

Portland, July 14, 1867. 
What do you think of Andy's reconstruction scheme? It strikes 
me that the rebels are having it all their own way. The papers say 
that Montgomery Blair approves. It is quite time, in my judgment, 
that the Blairs were laid aside, though as Fox [Gustavus V., Assist- 
ant Secretary of the Navy] belongs to the family, I suppose the Com- 
mitee on Naval Affairs will go with the administration. I have been 
hard at work gardening, and my health has improved wonderfully. 

Portland. Sept. 20, 1867. 
My dear Grimes: 

I have just finished my evening cigar, and, as it happens to be a 
good one, I am in a most desirable condition. Beside the cigar, I 
am just now in excellent health — eat well (in spite of chronic 
dyspepsia which my friends assign in excuse of my bad temper) — 
sleep well — my garden flourishes — and Frank with his charming 
little wife and pretty boy make a part of my family. Should not all 
these happy circumstances and surroundings enable me to bear even 
Mr. Sumner's philippics with a reasonable degree of equanimity? 

The truth is I didn't get angry with Sumner this time. The whole 
thing was exquisitely funny. All the world this way is laughing at 
him. It was manifest that the thing was deliberately got up. I 
will bet you a guinea he either had a week to prepare, or took that 
time to revise the manuscript. 

With you, however, I was surprised at the appearance of such 
stuff in the Advertiser. Mr. Chandler (J. P.), the principal owner 
and director, was away, as was the leading editor. Chandler wrote 
me from the country that he don't understand it. I have sent him 
your letter for edification. 

The truth is that for some reason or other, this particular clique 
have resolved to write and talk me down — to persuade the people 
that I am untrue to the principles of the party — a friend and de- 
fender of Andrew Johnson. They would do the same by Grant if 
they dared. See Sumner's hints and Phillips' open attacks. Forney 
cottons with them and beslavers Grant. They don't want him if it 
can be avoided, and mean to dispose of me in case any happy incident 
should kill off Grant. Now, so far as I am concerned, they need not 
trouble themselves. I would go as far to avoid being a candidate 
myself as I would to defeat Wade. But the malice is only equalled 
by their meanness and cowardice. 

I have recently returned from a water expedition to St. John in 
company with Hooper [Samuel] and Conkling [Roscoe]. We talked 
freely of Sumner's manifesto, and Phillips' letter found us at East- 



—16— 

port; Conkling was evidently much annoyed, and thought he should 
have a friendly talk with Sumner. He says, Phillips' letter, so far 
at it refers to me, was but a repetition of what he had heard Sumner 
say in the cars when riding from the Capitol. I have not heard 
from Edmunds. As both of them were fond of complimenting Sum- 
ner, I shall let them settle the matter in their own way. 

We are looking to the Western elections with much interest. I 
mark your prediction. If it comes true, I think the hopes of these 
gentlemen will be somewhat clouded. 

Is it true that Wilson [James P.], has written a letter in favor 
of impeachment? If so, he has not acted with his usual discretion. 

Keep cool my friend, enjoy your leisure, and come back full of 
love to all your associates — particularly for the writer who, with best 
regards for your wife, remains as always yours. 

Portland, Oct. 20, 1867. 

As j'ou predicted the elections have surprised people, though Iowa 
has held her own very well. Our friends Wade, Chandler & Co. must 
feel particularly gratified with the result in Ohio. I see Stevens 
imputes it to the corruption of Congress in not impeaching the Presi- 
dent. Most of our influential journals, however, think it is owing to V 
a general disgust with the leadership of Stevens and his drive. 

* * * All is Grant now, and I do not see but he will go in by gen-', 
eral acclamation, without any declaration of his principles, or pledges ' 
of his action. It will be only necessary for the Democrats to nom- 
inate him also, and we shall have an administration "without regard . 
to colour" — and shall see in due time, what is to come of it. You 
must be on the look-out for squalls. There will be plenty of crimi- 
nation and recrimination. Will you and Edmunds and others be 
prepared to take a part in the fight, or are we to be silent and take 
all the abuse certain gentlemen will load us with? 

Mr. Fessenden held that the act of Congress which was in- 
tended to protect Mr. Stanton in his office was unwarranted 
by the Constitution. He delivered an elaborate written opinion 
to that effect. Later, upon the election of General Grant as 
President, that act was repealed. At the close of his opinion 
Mr. Fessenden said with reference to the diatribes against him : 
"I should consider myself unworthy a place among honor- 
able men, if for any fear of public reprobation, and for the 
sake of securing popular favor, I should disregard the convic- 
tions of my judgment and m.y conscience. The consequences 
which may follow from conviction or acquittal are not for me 
to consider. The future is in the hands of Him who made 
and governs the universe, and the fear that He will not govern 



—17— 

it wisely and well would not excuse me for a violation of His 
law." 

In the trial Mr. Sumner held that the Senate was still a 
political body, and the Senators under a political responsi- 
bility ; Mr. Fessenden held that the Senate was now a Court. 
The difference in their point of view appeared in the fact that 
Mr. Sumner and his side addressed the Chief Justice as ' ' Mr. 
President." Mr. Fessenden and Mr. Grimes always addressed 
him as ":\Ir. Chief Justice." 

Washington, June 12, 1868. 
My dear Grimes: 

Glad to liear that you are improving. All you have to do is to 
enjoy yourself, and let public affairs take care of themselves. Trum- 
bull has been very busy of late getting the rebel States in— including ' 
Alabama, to which he was opposed. The fools outvoted us as usual, 
as if our burdens were not heavy enough now. 

Andy has behaved very well so far, and I think he will hold on 
until after the Democratic convention. The Democrats go to see 
him, such as Hendricks and Buckalew, and I think he is compara- 
tively safe in their hands. 

Have you seen the London papers? All with one accord congratu- 
late this country upon its escape from a serious blow at its govern- 
ment, and praise us for our firmness. They evidently consider im- 
peachment in this case as a mere scheme of Jacobinism to get 
power. Was it not about so? Stanton, I learn, is very bitter. This 
does not surprise me though I deeply regret such an exhibition of 
bitterness in such a man. 

Mr. J. M. Forbes, of Boston, IMay 23, 1868, wrote Mr. Fes- 
senden : "I hope you do not care anything for the ravings of 
our radical papers; and I know you will not let them move 
you a hair from the even tenor of your way. The more I 
agree with them, in the main, the more they make me mad 
with their extravagance and unreasonableness. ' ' In reply Mr. 
Fessenden said : 

Washington, June 21, 1868. 
* * * I have felt outraged by the gross attacks made upon me by 
some of the Republican journals. However, I cannot but feel that 
time will set all things even. Whether it does or not, the path of 
duty is plain. No considerations of this sort could justify me in 
departing from my line of duty. A man who has knowingly and 
deliberately put at hazard all that most public men value, in obedi- 



—18— 

ence to his sense of right, will not be likely to throw away all the 
consolation that remains to him — his own approval. 

Grimes will be in Boston before long, and I hope our friends will 
see and cheer him. He is a noble fellow, and I love him more 
than ever.* 

A large number of citizens of Boston of the Republican 
party, "desirous of expressing their sense of the value of his 
public services," invited INIr. Fessenden to a public dinner to 
be given in that city. They said: 

"While some of us strongly dissent from the conclusion at\ 
which you arrived with regard to the conviction of President 
Johnson, we all heartily recognize and admire your courage 
and conscientiousness under circumstances of peculiar diffi- >• 
culty." 

Declining the invitation from considerations of his duty in 
the Senate and of his own health, Mr. Fessenden referred to 
the "circumstances of peculiar difficulty" alluded to. A few 
extracts from his letter show how he regarded the situation : 

Washington, June 25, 1868. 
To the Hon. Alexander H. Bullock, and others: 

* * * The impeachment of the President was a most extraordinary 
event, and will constitute a remarkable chapter in our country's 
history. The conduct of the President almost from the beginning 
of his administration had been such as to render him obnoxious to i 
the suspicion of designing to defeat the cherished object of those ' 
who had elected him, and of plunging the country back into a con- 
dition little better than that from which it had been rescued at so 
vast a sacrifice. It was not only humiliating, but irritating in the 
extreme. 

* * * I do not wonder that the idea of impeachment was popular, 
nor did it surprise me that but few should stop to consider that the 
long catalogue of the President's alleged offenses prior to the re- 
moval of Mr. Stanton had for the most part been under investigation 
by a learned and able committee of the House, and had been reported 
upon, and that the House by a large majority had voted against 
impeachment for those offenses. 

The President was arraigned upon specific charges. Although the 
offenses were political, the proceeding itself I could not but regard as 
of a judicial character. The constitution of the tribunal, the oath 
imposed upon the members, impressed me with the belief that I was 
bound to lay aside all prejudice against the individual, and to try ■ 



*Letters and Recollections, John Murray Forbes. If, 164-66. 



—19— 

him solely upon the law and the facts, the crimes and misdemeanors 
charged. * * * The members were, to be sure, servants of the people, -^ 
responsible to them, but only as judges are for an honest decision; all ' 
the attempts to coerce a decision by outside pressure, by appeals to 
party obligation, by threats and vituperation, were as wrong as if 
applied to any case of private right before any court in the land, 
and subversion of justice and of public and private morality. I . 
considered the matter entirely beyond and above party jurisdiction. 
For the vote I gave I offer no excuse or apology, and ask no vindica- 
tion; nor do I consider myself entitled to any special credit for ^ 
courage or conscientiousness in the discharge of what I considered ' 
an imperative duty. 

Andrew D. White in his Autobiography, II, 147, calls Mr. 
Fessenden's action "an example of Spartan fortitude, of 
Roman heroism worthy to be chronicled by Plutarch," and 
says, "The time will come when a statue will commemorate 
his great example." 

To Mr. Grimes. 

Washington, June 24, 1868. 

We are getting along stupidly as usual here. The impeachers are' 
not particularly happy, though most of them have become very civil. 
Wade is said to be very cross, and refuses to be comforted. I am' 
told that Forney says the party had a narrow escape. I am informed 
that General Grant talks well and properly, as a sensible man should. 
His particular friends and organs have come to the conclusion that 
they cannot afford to throw away any support. 

I shall decline the Boston invitation. I could not avoid saying 
something about Sumner's resolutions, but I have treated them re- ■ 
spectfully, and said nothing of him. Every day he gets some hard 
rubs in the Senate all round. Yesterday I was obliged to defend 
him, as he was badly treated. 

Evarts' nomination is to be bitterly opposed by Congw^ss and 
others, but I hardly think he can be rejected, though there are a 
great many fools in the Senate. Stanton I never hear spoken of. "" 

I am glad to hear that you continue to improve. 

July 2. I struck out of my Boston letter all that related to 
Sumner. I am glad that you like the letter. It was not easy to tell 
what not to say. 

Mr. Grimes to Mr. Fessenden. 

Bath, Maine, July 7, 1868. 
* * * I have not heard of a man here who disapproved of your 
course after he came to understand it. Nor did I in Boston. I dis- 
covered that Hooper [Samuel] telegraphed and went to Boston, while 



—20— 

the matter was pending, to get up a public meeting in favor of con- 
viction and it was to head off that movement that R. H. Dana, Jr., 
introduced his resolution into the House [Legislature of Massachu- 
setts] where he was chairman of the Judiciary Committee, and 
which came near passing that Body. 

From the extracts I have seen of Butler's [B. F.] report, I judge 
that it is the most discreditable public paper ever issued in this 
country, and to permit it to go to the world unaccompanied by the 
evidence on which it was based is infamous, and in my opinion in- 
volves in the infamy all who are party to it, and agree to it. 

In April, 1869, Mr. Grimes went to Europe in hope of re- 
gaining' his health. It improved in London, but in Paris a 
second attack of paral^'sis again prostrated him. When able 
to hold a pen, he wrote Mr. Fessenden : 

Paris, July 9. 1869. 

Your welcome letter came duly to hand. * * * This attack closes 
up my political career. I shall never, I am sorry to say, sit by your 
side as a member of the Senate again. * * * There is one thing we 
lack in America more than anything else, to make up an accurate 
history of our country, and that is, memoirs of public men. I am 
greatly struck with that fact here, where they have ever been so 
abundant. What kind of history can an.y man coming after us make 
up of the last ten years from the newspapers? None at all. Now, 
you have lived in the most eventful period of our country's history. 
You have had a leading part in public affairs for twenty -five years; 
you have a cool head, a retentive memory, a facile pen. I insist 
that you ought in justice to the future, in behalf of your own mem- 
ory, and for the common good, to spend a few leisure hours every 
day in preparing your memoirs. Y'ou need not take up subjects 
seriatim, begin with any one of the many interesting topics, and 
after one is completed, you will be more in the humor to begin an- 
other. If you do not choose to publish them in your own time, leave 
them to be published in some future time, in vindication of your 
memory, and to promote the cause of truth. 

The last of ^Ir. Fessenden 's letters to Mr. Grimes was the 
following": 

Portland, August 8, 1869. 

I was rejoiced, and my mind relieved to get a letter in your own 
handwriting, for I had heard a rumor of your second attack, and 
felt much alarmed. I am grieved to learn how much you have been 
afflicted. Under the skilful treatment you can find in Paris, I shall 
still hope to see you again in your old place before I leave the Sen- 
ate, if not at so early a day as I could wish — unless you retire under 



—21— 

the advice of those best able to judge of what your permanent good 
requires. 



* * 



[As to re-election to the Senate] What the result will be I can- 
not foresee, and on my own account do not much care, for I am 
about tired of the whole thing. I shall be a candidate, for duty to 
myself and the State requires it of me. But I shall contend at some 
disadvantage, for I will not use the means that will be used against 
me. If money is to be used, be it so. It will not be used by or for ) 
me. I will have no hand in corrupting legislative morals. If elected, 
it must be on my merits, and because the people so desire. For 
corrupt and corrupting honors I have no desire. My hands are 
clean thus far, and I mean to keep them so. Any but an honest and > 
high-minded people I have no desire to serve. If Maine desires that 
her Senators shall be elected by petty newspaper and office-seeking 
politicians, it is very clear that I shall not be one of them, nor, in 
such a case, do I wish to be — and that is the end of it. 

* * * Take good care of yourself, my dear friend, and believe 
me with the kindest regards to Mrs. Grimes and Mary [afterwards 
Mrs. W. B. Allison]. Ever yours most truly, 

Hon. James W. Grimes. W. P. Fessenden. 

In reply Mr. Grimes wrote from Switzerland: 

August 31, 1869. 

Your letter of the 8th has just reached me in the midst of the 
Savoy Alps, being douched and soaked in hot sulphur water. 

Perhaps you have observed that I have resigned my place in the 
Senate. I regret to leave on your account, and on Trumbull's. 

We shall not return to America this year. We have it in con- 
templation to spend the winter in Italy, a considerable part of it 
in Rome, and I shall take the liberty to kiss the pope's great toe on 
your account and in your behalf. Read Milton's invocation beginning 

"Avenge, O Lord, thy slaughtered Saints!" 
and then fancy that we are right among the descendants of those 
slaughtered saints. 

In the night of the same day the letter was written, Mr. 
Fessenden was seized with a fatal illness at his home in Port- 
land, and died nine days afterward. Upon receiving the in- 
telligence, Mr. Grimes in a letter to Mr. Lyman Cook, of 
Bnrlington, Iowa, wrote : 

Vevay, Switzerland, Oct. 10, 1869. 

I have never been so afflicted by the death of any man as by the 
sudden decease of Mr. Fessenden. He was my most intimate, sincere, 
and attached friend, and the sentiment was most cordially recipro- 
cated. I knew him as no other man knew him, for he always made 



—22— 

me his confidant. I admired as only those admired him who Ivnew 
him intimately. He was the highest-toned, truest, noblest man I 
ever knew. I never knew or expect to know a man who can ap- 
proach him in the qualities that go to make a grand man and a 
noble statesman. The man does not live who can take his place in 
the Senate. To tell you the truth, his death has been a serious blow 
to me. The news nearly upset me. I have not been able to think 
of much else since I heard it. Only four days before the news came, 
I received a long, cheerful, and characteristic letter from him. 

Writing- later to ^Ir. Cook with reference to the Impeach- 
ment trial, Mr. Grimes said: 

I would not exchange the recollection of that grasp of the hand 
and that glorified smile given me by that purest and ablest of men 
I have ever known, Mr. Fessenden, when I was borne into the Senate 
chamber on the arms of four men, to cast my vote, for the highest 
distinction of life. 

Senator James Dixon, of Connecticut, had said in a letter 
to Mr. Fessenden: 

It is due mainly to you and Grimes that the country was saved 
from seeing a President removed when any party desired it. This 
was averted by a degree of courage and patriotism the world has 
never seen surpassed. My respect for men who resisted a tre- 
mendous influence brought to bear upon them is too great for ordi- 
nary language to express. 

George W. Julian, a representative from Indiana, said, 
twenty years afterward : 

I was one of the many men whose partisan madness and exasper- 
ation carried them headlong into the Impeachment movement, but 
I was not long in discovering my mistake; and no man is more will- 
ing than myself to do honor to the brave men who faced the wrath 
and scorn of this party in 1868.* 

In the Memorial Addresses delivered in Congress three 
months after Mr. Fessenden 's death, Senator George H. Wil- 
liams, of Oregon (Judge of the First District of Iowa, 1847- 
'52), said of him: 

When he spoke, he bore himself proudly, and with graceful ease, 
his nerves firm and electric as a Damascus blade, always choosing 
simple language. Few beholding his imperial bearing would suspect > 
that some nervous prostration followed every effort. He had no 



* Iowa Historical Record, VIII, 360. 



—23— 

taste for grandiloquent oratory, but of that unaffected speech which 
is in earnest to force conviction, he was a consummate master. 
Fitted to shine in society, he usually avoided it, to the regret of his 
friends, as they felt that he would have been more widely beloved, 
had he been less of a recluse. Those who were invited to his home 
found him cordial in manner, fascinating in conversation, a brilliant 
talker, often speaking with humor, more willing to show his learning, 
his love of poetry, and his literary treasures at his own fireside than 
in any public theater. 

Senator Sumner said : 

During the whole period of the war, when appropriations were 
beyond precedent in the world's history, Mr. Pessenden's influence 
swayed the Senate, and what all our best generals were in the army 
he was in the financial field. 

Hannibal Hamlin (Vice President, and presiding officer of 
the Senate, 1861- '5), said: 

The duties and victories of civil life are as important as those of 
arms, and the statesman, who aids in wisely directing the councils 
of the Nation, should be held in as cherished remembrance as he who 
successfully commands our armies in the field. Such is the position 
the historian will assign Mr. Fessenden. 



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